


For Magic and For Science

by Somecallmemichelle



Category: Portal
Genre: /r/fanfiction, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Aperture Science, Fantasy, Gen, Guilds, Magic, Male OC - Freeform, Medieval, Monsters, Multiverse, black mesa, test chambers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-16 23:38:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8122030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somecallmemichelle/pseuds/Somecallmemichelle
Summary: “(...).Allow me to introduce...THE MULTIVERSE. Infinite Earths, with an infinite number of Apertures. (..)”Cave Jonhson Perpetual Training Iniciative (Portal 2) Just one of those possible multiverses Cave Johnson, and how he deals with science.





	

_ “(...) _ _.Allow me to introduce...THE MULTIVERSE. Infinite Earths, with an infinite number of Apertures. (..)” - Cave Jonhson Perpetual Training Iniciative (Portal 2) _

  
  
  


**_At one of those multiverses..._ **

  
  


There were whispers amongst the crowd that had formed, the promise of gold dwindling their eyes. It was a varied crowd, from proud knights whose horses’ tails swatted the flies that had been attracted to the torches placed in a circle, lining up the whole assembly, to beggars and penance payers, with sharp eyes, seemingly sunken into their skull.

 

“This test…” - Cave said, his eyes shining, as he focused on the crowd. He seemed to be able to get his eyes on every single person, though with the size of the crowd, that should have been impossible. - “Is meant to question the agility and strength of a man…” - He continued.

 

“As such, no horses are allowed…” - There wasn’t much objection, not many had horses. - “And only Sword, lance, axe or trident will be allowed in.” - The man gave a small smile, which the lightening coming from below made similar to a devilish grin. - “It’s better this way.”

 

There was hesitation amongst the crowd. Some archers had come in, expecting to face the challenge - whichever it was. - From a safe distance. - “Now now…” - The man lifted a palm, and for a moment everyone could see the aperture tatoo in his palm, The Aperture guild’s mark, from which he was leader. A faint light emitted from it, as if assuring the assembly that there was plenty of energy stored there. 

 

“Agility and strength...as promised the Aperture science and Magic Group will hand over 120 gold coins if anyone succeeds in this challenge…” - He tasted the air, letting the pause build up, their anticipation too, he could practically hear them salivating over the large quantity of gold. You could buy land for less than that.

 

“But it won’t be easy...this isn’t a controlled test, this is a pure experiment, that can go wrong, and I won’t hold myself accountable for dead children, or widows...in the morning you may very well find yourself with riches, or you might be not much more than a carcass, if that…”

 

There were nervous glances amongst the crowd, everyone analysing the others, unsure if they wanted to go first. Finally a voice, at the threat of further speeches from the leader of the  Aperture Science and Magic Group, shouted to him.   
  
“Just get on with it, will ya?”

 

Cave Johnson let out a theatrical sigh,  raising out his arms, while giving an annoyed stare at the region of the assembly from where the shout had come from.

 

“If they want this.”

 

He let out a few words, and his hands burned, as the aperture in his hand flashed white and like a beacon to the skies his hands pointed upwards. The white light emitting from his hands summoning the creatures of the night. From the moon he drew his strength and it was towards the moon the light shoot.

 

The crowd let out gasps of wonder, many not having seen real magic before, but having heard of witches and warlocks in the tales told by their parents, in the night. Feared and respected, those had many powers, though the exact details of which ones were kept a mystery by the two orders of warlocks, Aperture and Black Mesa. The two bitter rival guilds.

 

Cave Johnson sweated as his beacon connected with the moon, over 300 thousand kilometers away, he finally connected. He quickly began shouting words, raising power from the celestial body.

 

A blue spot appeared in the moon, easily confounded with one of its many holes, it was, thanks to the light still shining from  Cave’s hand that it was visible to the ones gathered there  that it was blue and not dark gray like the others. Like if he was going to tell someone to quit talking Cave aimed the light at a tree in a clearance nearby, faintly illuminated by dozens of floating points. Before then the crowd had assumed it to be torches, now, they realised, it was pure lighting in glass jars.

 

Jonhson threw the light against a tree and an orange spiral began  appearing on it. One which eventually grew enough to let something pass through.

 

The crowd gasped, the thing stood 15 feet tall and at least 30 wide, and in the clearance it was obvious what it was. - A lunar hydra. The creatures came rarely onto the earth on nights of full moon and caused devastation and chaos, often taking entire groups of men and women working together to bring one down.

 

Exhausted, but also satisfied with his work, Cave turned his head from the beast’s seven heads, which were sniffing and looking around and talked to the crowd.

 

“Well...who will face the monster? Remember 120 coins are at stake here.”

 

Even despite the large amount not many people in the crowd looked eager to face the monster, even the knights, with their horses, had turned their animals in the opposite dimension. Barely able to control them, as they went on two hooves and tried to run from the enormous beast.

 

Jonhson had a mad glint in his eyes as he stared at the crowd.somehow it felt like he was staring at every single one of them, his smile mocking. - Who amongst the crowd would take the challenge? To whom might possibly luck smile? His hand still glowed, controlling the beast’s urges to attack.

 

It could smell the large assembly, and that drove it mad. Only the presence of a powerful warlock kept it at bay. Not even fire would have kept it away.

 

Its 14 small snake like eyes focused, trying to get rid of the fog in its mind. As Jonhson teased the crowd. Asking if he stood before men or mice.

 

Finally someone in the crowd moved forward.

 

“My mother didn’ raise no coward.” - The man said and Cave Jonhson smiled, ignoring the double negative. The man was a fierce looking one, with a beard that had not seen a trim, or a brush in years. His shoulders stood firm and wide as an oak tree but, despite that his legs shook. Being that this was a warm night Cave brimmed with joy despite not letting it show.  _ the man was terrified _ !

 

_ This should prove my hypothesis _ \- He thought.

 

Aloud, to the crowd he said:

 

“Look at this brave man, ready to stare death in the eye! Will chance and fortune smile upon him? Who knows?”

 

Then he turned to face the man.

 

“I will lock you with the hydra using the magical arts. You won't be able to hear or see us, but we will be here. Good luck!”

 

The man faced forward and Johnson gave him a slightly sweaty enthusiastic pat on the back before closing him in. His hand glowed brighter, the air shimmered and suddenly there was silence around the man. No more murmurs, no more creaks or shuffles of the feet. Just him, alone.

 

As if awakening from a slumber the hydra blinked all 14 eyes at the same time and snapped its jaws...the man nervously pushed his weapon from the back of his belt, drawing it.

 

Man and beast stood still for brief moments, the very brief respite before the battle. The hydra’s many eyes were half closed, as if daring the challenger to do anything, for it had been a leader amongst its kind and it was a proud and imposing beast.

 

The man grabbed the handle of his weapon with all his strength. The weapon he had brought on for the challenge had been a simple dagger, and he questioned the efficiency of such a weapon against the creature.

 

It had scales, like a snake, but these seemed to be  a protective layer. They were light grey in color, pushing the light from the moon and reflecting it. It wouldn’t be easy to pass through them.

 

His most likely chance would be the heads of the creature, he reckoned. From outside Cave Johnson watched, waiting for his hypothesis being proven. - Or the man being killed. Either way, he had the assurance in his mind that he wouldn’t be held accountable for the death. He had entered willingly and greedingly.

 

The Hydra, apparently deciding that the man would make a good meal, attacked one of its heads moved forwards at a breakneck speed. The man barely heard the hiss and had time to move sideways, before the head hit the spot where his chest had been a few seconds earlier.

 

“Well then…” - The man licked a tip of sweat that had formed in between his nose and lips, and then he went on the offensive.

 

The hydra snapped back its head, the advantage of having 7 heads was clear - it could attack with two or more at the same time. The man was attacked, both at the throat and at the calves.

 

He managed to dodge the one coming for his head, by moving left, however another head was just behind him, the hydra having predicted the possible dodge, and attacked him with its teeth bared.

 

The man felt only pain  as the surface of his skin was punctured,  on the leg level, he made a desperate swing with the dagger, trying to get the creature’s teeth out of his  lower body. 

 

It was with satisfaction that he saw the creature screech as he dragged the dagger across one of its necks. That head pushed back and he was satisfied to see that he had left a mark on the proud beast.

 

He slowly staggered backwards, his wounded leg was giving him trouble, not bending properly, and he could swear he could see white in the wound. It might actually have reached bone level. 

 

Cursing his rotten  luck at the start of the battle, to the gods of which he worshipped, he moved. The blood seemed to throw the creature in a frenzy, as it had started  snapping at him with 4 heads at the same time. Only the fact he drew the blade and swinged it kept it at bay. Though, maybe he had to admit to himself, it was luck rather than authentic skill.

 

Finally his raw swing managed to succeed. As the creature had come to bite , and take a chunk of the man’s flesh, he pushed the dagger deep into a previously made wound.

 

The strength in his blow almost made him scream, for it was pushing on his wounded leg. But  he cheered himself by reminding himself that 120 gold coins  could hire him the best doctor in all of the land. Unfortunately he didn’t have a long blade so he was forced to insert his arm through the wound, puncturing the neck, and ripping it clear.

 

The creature let out a growl, such a deep guttural growl that it was almost as deafening as the sheer pain in in leg had been.    
  
But the man’s victory was short lived, for in the place where the stump had been, a rapid growth began to occur, erecting itself, the neck healed into two separate, thinner necks, and, from those necks, two new heads popped out. The man had to deal with an 8 headed hydra now.

 

The man thought to himself of tales of hydras and how to stop this from happening. In his panicked frantic mind, the answer came to him, fire!

 

But where would he find fire? Even the lights around them were lightning , not fire. He realised then and there that he was set to fail, and he accepted his destiny.

 

“C’mon then, ya beast” - he said, throwing the head he had torn in the general direction of the beast. - He released his dagger also, and realised he had been pressing it with such strength it actually marked the flesh of his hand. - “Finish me off”

 

His leg was giving him hell so he finally allowed it his rest, dropping on his knees ,ready for the inevitable.

 

(break)

 

“Well, that was as valiant as it was stupid” - Cave said, to the crowd who had watched the whole scene unfold. 

 

_ And it didn’t prove my hypothesis. _ \- He thought to himself, as with a single flash of his hand the creature stood still, pieces of their prize still in its many mouths. He ordered the creature to turn back around, and started worrying about the next text. 

  
  


I was the dawn of a new day and as usual Johnson felt tired. Not just from all the magic he had performed and the show he had done. - No. - As one of Aperture, the sun would reduce his power, as well as his vitality greatly. Not enough that he couldn’t walk around, but compared to the night the difference was seeable.

 

He drove his power from the moon. Essentially. Their potions used moon powder and gels. (they didn’t actually enter the astral body, they just made an entrance to the moon and used a vaccum wave of magic to push dust towards them), as compared to Black Mesa’s dealings with the earth itself, and its minerals.

 

Cave considered himself above all a researcher - Or the head of a guild of a research as it were. He didn’t do many studies anymore. And for the last few months he had been testing out a pet theory of his.

  
  


  
Sitting in his office, a shady place, where light that emanated from the sun could barely penetrate, he remembered how he had began setting aside guild ruling issues, for such pursuit; He had noticed that when in danger, magic users tended to get stronger. He had found through scientific means that a strange substance flew through their blood when in stress or in danger. A substance he had called....adrenaline.

 

But that had ignited a thought on him, could that same substance also somehow tap into a non magic person’s possible magical energy roots?

 

Science and magic clashed often, and Johnson hadn’t found yet the reason people seemed destined to become warlocks or witches. Though he knew that the damn Black Mesa guild was close on finding something about it.

 

So he had done the Aperture Magic and Science tests, making those magic chambers and putting volunteers through them. So far none had survived.

 

But to Cave Johnson it didn’t matter much, Even if he had to use some of Aperture’s members as volunteers eventually. - Though different each time, the danger of each testing ground was spreading around the kingdom, and volunteers were fewer each time. - His thought process was simple. You couldn’t make science, without killing some people. That was life.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> For the /r/fanfiction 7th prompt challenge, and the genre challenge, where I drew fantasy.


End file.
